You’re not the only one who’s going through this phase! I went through it for about 2 years between graduating and few years post graduation…I couldn’t help myself thinking that everything I designed went straight to landfills. At some point I really wanted to design medical products, knowing that they strictly perform functions to save lives and whatnot…to help take off the guilt of designing another disposable product.
My thought started to slowly change once I read comments of consumers rating a product I designed sold on amazon.com. All this time while I thought I was designing unnecessary product soon-to-be-in-a-landfill, the products solved existing problems, delivered joy and performed its function for years to come. My company also conducts various consumer experience events, where we test and observe with consumers. We were giving out our products as a thank you gift, and one person came straight up to me and started expressing such joy in how a product I designed made a difference in her life. Sure, it didn’t save her life in a dramatic way, or added years to her life but that product assisted her lifestyle.
Even if you decided to leave your freelancing jobs, the show WILL go on. Someone will be replaced to continue design products. I start work by reminding myself to design things to perfection, as much as I can…I learned that there is no worse feeling in the world to have a mass-produced a really sloppy made product and say “this should never have been made…” or to read a 1-star comment on amazon.com